Peevish Thoughts
Life is complicated enough.
Why should I have to worry one whit about how the Turkish government reacts to a vote in a House committee over what to label a mass killing that took place nearly a century ago? Really. Come on.
BUT, because we are trapped in years of deadly foolishness in Iraq, and Turkey is a major trans-shipment route for cargo heading to our forces there, AND because we have been relying on Turkey's willingness to forebear an invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan to 'deal with' the Kurdish separatists (so that the war we started and can't finish doesn't spread throughout the region), it matters.
Which means that I also have to end up wondering why, if the President doesn't have enough pull in Congress to squash a vote like that, how does it happen that warrantless wiretapping is now legal, and we're on the verge of giving immunity to multi-million dollar telecom corporations for actions we can't even get described (though we've been told they were legal, in which case why would they need immunity? Especially since courts have been so happy to accept the 'state secrets' defense and throw out any cases that might require exposing what they did anyway.) Or, for that matter, why is there even a question that his veto of healthcare funding for poor sick children might stand?
If the President is so weak he can't prevent a vote on a bill that's been failing in Congress for 20 years now, how's he's getting away with all that other crap?
And, with all sympathy for the Armenian people (who I do realize have been seeking this recognition of the events for decades), if Congress is going to stand up to the President and vote for statements in the interest of justice, I want some action regarding the use of torture, secret rendition, illegal surveillance and killing by our government before we work our way down the list to the misdeeds of an empire dismantled following WW I. (Yes, you Armenians were in line first, but heinous acts of existing governments take precedence, especially since it's OURS. Sorry.)
I swear, some days listening to the news just makes me too cranky.
Update: If one must be thinking about Turkey, reading Prof. Juan Cole is a good way to do it.
Why should I have to worry one whit about how the Turkish government reacts to a vote in a House committee over what to label a mass killing that took place nearly a century ago? Really. Come on.
BUT, because we are trapped in years of deadly foolishness in Iraq, and Turkey is a major trans-shipment route for cargo heading to our forces there, AND because we have been relying on Turkey's willingness to forebear an invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan to 'deal with' the Kurdish separatists (so that the war we started and can't finish doesn't spread throughout the region), it matters.
Which means that I also have to end up wondering why, if the President doesn't have enough pull in Congress to squash a vote like that, how does it happen that warrantless wiretapping is now legal, and we're on the verge of giving immunity to multi-million dollar telecom corporations for actions we can't even get described (though we've been told they were legal, in which case why would they need immunity? Especially since courts have been so happy to accept the 'state secrets' defense and throw out any cases that might require exposing what they did anyway.) Or, for that matter, why is there even a question that his veto of healthcare funding for poor sick children might stand?
If the President is so weak he can't prevent a vote on a bill that's been failing in Congress for 20 years now, how's he's getting away with all that other crap?
And, with all sympathy for the Armenian people (who I do realize have been seeking this recognition of the events for decades), if Congress is going to stand up to the President and vote for statements in the interest of justice, I want some action regarding the use of torture, secret rendition, illegal surveillance and killing by our government before we work our way down the list to the misdeeds of an empire dismantled following WW I. (Yes, you Armenians were in line first, but heinous acts of existing governments take precedence, especially since it's OURS. Sorry.)
I swear, some days listening to the news just makes me too cranky.
Update: If one must be thinking about Turkey, reading Prof. Juan Cole is a good way to do it.
posted by Paul at 3:39 PM |
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